Drop-bottom mine car



Dec. 17, 1940. E. J. ROSE DROP-BOTTOM MINE-CAR Filed May 21, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 gmlwm Dec. 17, 1940. E. J. ROSE DROP-BOTTOM MINE CAR 2 5 Sheets- Sheet Filed May 21. 1958 3 wucnk t EdzzardJfiosa 1 1%? 0 NN A, ,Q V wN NN MN. W.N\ .Q, QM 0 W E w /\.MN m NW Dec. 17, 1940.

E. J. ROSE DROP-BOTTOM MINE CAR -5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 21, 1938 Dec. 17, 1940. E. J. ROSE DROP-BOTTOM MINE CAR 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 21. 1938 IEQI Patented Dec. 17, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,225,402 naor-no'r'rom mm: on.

some I. m, Wilmington,

one-third to Ralph J.

Ohio, asllgnor oi Miars and one-third to 9 Claims.

This invention relates to vehicles for transporting loose bulk materials and in its more particular aspect is directed to a mine car or the drop bottom type. Many cars of this type now in general use to convey coal from the mines discharge their loads into large bins having bottom walls which slope at an angle of 40 degrees in order that the coal will move downwardly to the tipples. Most of these cars operate undesirably in that they must be completely over the bin before the contents are discharged because the rear door must open first. Due to the sharp inclination of the bin bottom wall, the coal falling from the front and middle portions of the cars falls such a distance that the coal is unduly broken and a large amount of slack created.

To avoid this fault, the car forming the subject of the present invention has been designed.

The primary object of the invention resides in the provision of a drop bottom mine car having a plurality of hinged bottom doors with means for holding the doors in a closed position. The construction of the door holding means is such that the doors will drop in consecutive order, i. e., 25 the front door first, the second door second and so on.

It is also an object of the invention to provide lock means which'coacts with the door holding means to prevent the release of the doors except at the desired location.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a mine car having a frame formed from a pair of structural channel members. The flanges of the channel members are outwardly directed and the ends of said members are bent toward one another and welded together to form a unitary structure.

It is also an object of the invention to provide the frame of a car with transversely extending angle members to which are pivotally secured the means for holding the bottom doors in a closed position.

Another object of the invention resides in providing the track for the carswith a trip mecha- 45 nism which will release the locks for the doors holding means so that the latter may be moved to a position whereby the bottom door may swing to a discharge position.

The invention also contemplates the provision 50 of novel shock absorbing mechanism at the ends of the car frame so that the shock incident to starting and stopping of the train in which the car is positioned will not injure the car or cause its premature deterioration.

5 It is also an object of the invention to provide the track with means for closing the doors after they have been permitted to move to 9. contents discharging position and to provide the trip mechanism and the door closing mechanism with so a resilient mounting which will permit the cars to move rearwardiy thereover without injuring the doors or the means for holding them in closed positions.

Further objects will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying draw- 5 ings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 isa vertical longitudinal sectional view taken through a car formed in accordance with the present invention; 10

Fig. 2 is a view on an enlarged scale taken through the car shown in Fig. l as it is moving over the trip mechanism to effect the discharge of the materials from the car, the materials being indicated by dotted. lines; 15

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the car as it is moved over the mechanism used to move the doors to a closed position:

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line IV-IV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of .a latch used to hold the bottom doors in a closed position;

Fig. 6 is a similar view of a lock member em-- ployed for the purpose of preventing the undesired movement 01' the latches used to hold the bottom doors closed;

Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line VH-VII of Fig. 2:

Fig. 8 is a similar view taken on the plane indicated by the line VIII-VIII of Fig. 3;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the frame of the vehicle shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 10 is a detail vertical longitudinal section taken on the plane indicated by the line XX of Fig. 9; v

Fig. 11 is a similar view taken on the plane indicated by the line XI-XI of Fig. 9;

Fig. 12 is also a similar view on the plane indicated by the line XII-XII of Fig. 9;

Fig. 13 is a plan view of the car shown in Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral l designates the car in its entirety. This car is provided with a rectangular frame 2 formed from a pair of channel members arranged with the flanges extending outward1y.' Near their ends, the channel members are bent toward one another and the ends are welded as at 3 in abutting relationship. This provides a rigid one piece structure which possesses great strength. Ordinarily, cars of the type mentioned are provided with frame members secured together by rivets which, in a short time, become loosened due to the rough usage to which cars of this type are subjected. When the.frame is formed as shown, this looseness can not develop since the frame is oi one-piece construction. Adjacent each end and slightly spaced therefrom, there is provided a transversely extending channel brace 4. the ends of which are also secured an ing and stopp to the sides of the frame member by welding. These braces further strengthen the frame at the places where the jars or shocks caused by startof the train occur.

Near the central portion of the frame, there is provided transversely extending shafts 5, the outer ends of which project through the body of the channel frame and are reduced as at 6 to receive the antifriction bearings of flanged track engaging wheels I. The shafts are welded to the frame to prevent movement relative thereto and the outer ends of the shafts are threaded as at 8 ,to receive the bearing retaining means, not shown. In vertical registration with the shafts, there is provided transversely extending angle members 9 which have their corners directed upwardly to present a minimum surface to be engaged by the material positioned in the car. These angles prevent the coal from engaging the shafts or other mechanism disposed adjacent thereto.

Positioned at the forward end of the frame is a short shaft III. This shaft and the shafts 5 form the pivotal support for bottom doors H, the latter include curved sheet metal sections having at their side edges flanges l2 which help to form the bottom of the car and keep the coal dust from falling between the doors and the frame of the car. One end of the sections I! has straps I3 welded thereto, the straps being looped around the shafts and extending lengthwise of the doors to reenforce them. The free edge of the door is flanged as at l4 for engagement with a hook extension provided on a pivoted latch l5. One flange of the angle members 9 is provided with spaced angle brackets it through which projects a fulcrum pin II. The latch I 5 is formed with an opening l8 to receive the pin I 1 on which the latch is pivotally supported. The upper end of the latch is bifurcated as at l9 to provide spaced apertured ears between which is pivotally supported a saddle 20.

In registration with the saddle 20, one flange of the angle member 9 is formed with an opening in which is positioned a block 28 The upper surface of the angle member has a plate 22 secured thereto to hold the block in position in the opening. The under side of the block 2! is provided with an arcuate depression to receive a similarly shaped head on a button 23. The saddle 20 is formed on its inner surface with a lug in alignment with the button 23. A compression type coil spring 24 is disposed between the saddle and the member 23. The rounded shape of the head of the member 23 provides for lateral movement on the part of the spring at the end engaged by the saddle without introducing torsional stress in the spring. The spring 24 exerts a force on the latch to move the hooked end into engagement with the free edge of the door. Since the door engages the latch substantially in vertical registration with the pivot for the latch, the force of the spring is sufficient to maintain the door in a closed position even when the car is loaded to capacity.

To prevent accidental movement of the latch to a door releasing position, the brackets l6 are provided with a second set of openings for the reception of studs 25 which form the pivotal support for lock members 26,. the latter being provided at their lower ends with weighted portions 27 to cause the locks to swing to a position whereby laterally projecting lugs 28 will engage a recess 29 formed on the rear side of -the latch- IS. The pivots for the locks are disprior to the engagement of the posed in spaced relation to the pivot for the latch member.

This spacing causes the recess in the latch member to move on a slightly difl'erent arc than the projection on the lock member. When these members are in engagement, 3. binding action will be produced by this difference and the latch will be positively prevented from moving. When it is desired to release the doors to discharge the contents of the car, the lock must be moved to a position whereby the projections 23 will be out of the path of movement of the latch. This is accomplished through the provision of a trip mechanism best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 7. The lower portion of the lock extends a slight distance below the corresponding portion of the latch and will therefore engage a trip mechanism 33 provided in connection with the track slightly latch therewith. As the car moves forward, the lock will be swung rearwardly, when the latch will engage the trip mechanism and continued movement of the car will move the latch in opposition to the spring 2%. When the latch is moved sufficiently, the hook thereon will be moved out of engagement with the flange on the free edge of the door and the latter will move to an open position.

The trip mechanism 30 includes a base 3| having spaced upstanding bearing members 32 and 33. The trip member is pivoted at one end between the bearings 32 and at the other end, the trip member is formed with openings for the reception of a crank 34. This member is rotatably supported by the bearings 33 and the ends thereof to be moved by the crank. A tension type coil spring 38 is arranged at either side of the trip member to resiliently hold the same in an active position.

At the upper end, the trip member carries a plurality of rolls 39 to decrease the frictional engagement between the latch and lock members therewith. When the cars move rearwardly after being discharged, the locks and latches will engage the end of the trip member and move it to an inactive position. After the car moves to a position where the latches and locks are free from engagement with the trip member, the spring 38 will again move it to its active position. The rear edges of the latches and locks are inclined to produce a. wedge-like cam surface to enable them to more easily depress the trip mechanism. When the car has moved beyond the dumping location, the open doors will engage a door closing mechanism 40 as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 8.

The door closing mechanism 40 comprises a pair of laterally spaced angle members 4| supported between the tracks on a pair of crank members 42, the latter being pivotally carried by bearing brackets 43 formed at the ends of a base member 44. The angle members 4! support a plurality of spaced roller members 45 which register with the reenforcing straps I 3 provided on the under side of the doors I I. The angle members 4| are bent downward where the doors first engage them and the inclination of the angles cause the doors to move upwardly as the cars latter springs and the a,aaa,aea i p member and the back a: the channel, there positioned apair of sprln'gssimilar to'those promove forward. when the doors have moved far enough, a pair of projections. secured to the free edge of the door will engage the locks and move them to a position whereby the latch'meme bers may also be moved to an'inactive position.

After the latch members have been moved by the door, the projections 46 will move beyond a shoulder 41, formed on the locks and these members will then be free to swing into engagement with the latches. After the door has been fully elevated, the latch will be moved by its spring to a position whereby the door will be retained against downward movement. Since the locks are in engagement with the latches, the latter will be prevented from moving toa position to again release the door. The trip mechanism and the door closing device are usually positioned at the top of a coal bin or other storage device. The cars are run over the storage bin where they move over the trip. This releases the door and permits the contents to be discharged from the car into the bin. The car continues to move and will then engage the door closing mechanism which will move the doors to a closed position. If desired, the cars may move in one direction only or they may be moved rearwardly over the bin without effecting the release of the doors.

The ends of the car frame are provided with means for absorbing the shock caused by the starting and stopping of the train. One end of the frame, as indicated in Fig. 11, has a device for absorbing the shock-caused by a pulling force being imparted to the train. The opposite end, as indicated in Fig. 10, has mechanism to dampen the shock when the car is bumped by another train is coming to a stop or when the cars are being shifted. At the center of the frame at each end, there is provided a cutout in the body of the channel. In registration with the lower edge of the cutout portion on the inside of the channel, a shelf 48 is welded. This shelf supports for sliding movement a plate 49 provided at its front edge with an upwardly di- When the rected flange 50 and at its rear edge with adownwardly directed flange 5L. Between the flange 50 and the brace 4 on the car, there is positioned a compression type spring 52, the body of the brace and the flange 50 being provided with lugs to enter the ends of the spring to prevent its displacement. A pair of springs is also provided between the flange 5| and the body of the frame channel. Bolts extend through these flange and channel and are provided on their inner ends with nuts to limit the outward movement of the member 45.

A plate 53 is secured to the upper surfaceof'the frame and a coupling pin extends through openings in this plate and the shelf 48 as 'well as through a slot 54 provided in one end of a draft link 55. The other end of the link is formed with an opening through which extends a pin 56. The shelf and the plate at this end of the car are provided with slots through which the pin 56 extends. This pin is provided at its lower end with a collar and a cotter key to make it a stationary part of the car. The shock absorbing mechanism at this end of the car is disposed between the channel frame and the cross brace 4 and comprises a U-shaped channel 51, the inner-surface of one flange of which rests on the upper surface of the shelf 481:.

The flanges of the U-shaped member are provided with registering openings through which the pin 56 extends and between the body of this parted to the link body vided at-the opposite endofthe car. Tie boltsSli extend throughthe'me'mbe'r 51 and the flange of the channel to prevent the escape .of the springs and tolimit the movement of th'echannel 51 m response thereto. When, a pulling force is iin- 55, the pin will transmit it to the member 51 and this'in' turn will compress the springs 52. When the shock' ofthis pulling force has been absorbed by the, compression of the springs, the car will then begin to move in response to this pulling force.

The frame of the car is provided with'a bod having vertical end walls 59 and sloping side walls 60. The latter are provided with swelled out portions or box housings 6| to receive the upper portions of the wheels of the car. The sides and ends are constructed of sheet material and are welded together and to the frame to form a rigid unit. This construction provides a car which will withstand hard usage and will give long periods of service.

While I have shown and described the car in it preferred form, it will be understood that many minor changes may be made in the construction and shape of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A car for transporting bulk materials comprising a frame, a body having side and end walls secured to said frame, a plurality of shafts extending transversely of said frame, road engaging wheels provided at the sides of said frame, a bottom door pivoted to each of said transversely extending shafts, latch members supported on said frame for pivotal movement about axes disposed substantially parallel to said shafts, a latch mem-' to door releasing positions, said latch members being capable of movement to door releasing positions when said lock members are moved away therefrom.

2. In a mine car of the type having a frame,'a

provided with side and end walls, a plurality of transversely extending shafts and rail engaging wheels carried by certain of the shafts at the sides of the car, a supported by each shaft with the free edges of the doors directed toward the rear of the car, inverted V-shaped brace members provided on said frame,

a latch member pivotally supported by each brace member, spring means yieldably holding said latch members in engagement with the free edges of the doors to hold them in positions of closure,

lock means for preventing the undesired release of said latches including weighted members, and

means for pivotally supporting said weighted members adjacent said latches, the pivots for said weighted members being spaced rearwardly from those of the complemental latch members.

3. In a' mine car of the type having a frame, a body provided with side and end walls, and a door supported below said body for swinging movement about a transversely extending axis, the free edge of said door being disposed toward the rear of said car, means for holding said door in a closed position comprising a latch member pivotally bottom door pivotally tom of said door adjacent said latch, and means for supporting said lock member for pivotal movement about an axis disposed rearwardly on said frame with respect to the pivot for said latch.

4. A mine car comprising a frame formed from a pair of channel members, having their ends curved toward one another and secured in abutting relationship, the flanges of said channels be- ,ing outwardly directed, side and end walls secured to said frame, a plurality of longitudinally spaced transversely extending inverted V-shaped brace members carried by said frame, a transversely extending shaft carried by said frame beneath said brace members, road engaging wheels journaled on certain of said shafts, a bottom door mounted for swinging movement on, each shaft, the free ends of each door being disposed toward the rear end of the car, door holding means including latch members pivotally supported intermediate their ends below said brace member, spring means engaging one end of each latch to yieldably hold the opposite end portion in engagement with the doors, the latter end of each latch having a notch formed therein, means for preventing the undesired release of said latch a members, said means including lock members pivotally supported at the rear of said latch members, and lug means formed on said lock member, said lug means being normally positioned in the notches in said latch members to resist movement thereof toward the rear of said car.

5. In a mine car of the type having a frame, a body provided with side and end walls, and a door supported below said body for swinging movement about a transversely extending axis, the free edge of said door being disposed toward the rear of said car, means for holding said door in a closed position comprising a latch member supported for swinging movement on said frame and normally engaging the free end of the door to hold it in a closed position, said latch member having a notch formed in the rear surface in spaced relation from the pivot for said latch, means for holding said latch in operative position including a lock member pivotally supported by said'frame at the rear of the pivot for said latch, rearward movement of said latch serving to move vent movement of said latch.

6. In a mine car of the type having a frame, a body provided with side and end walls, and a door supported below said bodyfor swinging movement car, means for holding said door in a closed position comprising a, latch member supported for swinging movement on said frame and normally engaging the free end of the door to hold it in a closed position, said latch member being movable toward the rear of said car to release said door,

lock means for preventing undesired movement of said latch member comprising a weighted member mounted for free swinging movement about an axis disposed in parallel relation to the pivotal axis for said latch member and spaced rearwardly therefrom, and means provided on said lock and latch means for interengagement when said members are actively positioned, said lock and latch members projecting below the lowered surface of said door for engagement with extraneous trip means during movement of said car.

7. In a mine car of the type having a bottom door hinged at its forward edge for swinging movement about a transversely extending horiclosed position comprising a latch member pivotally supported in connection with said car and engaging the free edge of said door, independent lock means supported on said car at each side of said latch member for pivotal movement about an axis disposed at the rear of the axis for said latch member and parallel thereto, and interengaging means carried by said lock and latch member to prevent movement of the latter when the former occupies a normal position.

8. In a mine car of the type having a bottom door hinged at its forward edge for swinging movement about a transversely extending horizontal axis, means for holding said door in a closed position comprising a latch member pivotally supported with said car and engaging the free edge of said door, independent lock means supported on said car at each side of said latch member for pivotal movement about an axis disposed at the rear of the axis for said latch memher and parallel thereto, and lug members provided on each of said locks for engagement with said latch member, said lug members being disposed within recesses formed in said latch member and serving to resist movement of said latch member when said lock is normally positioned.

9. In a mine car of the type having a frame, a body, track engaging wheels at the sides of said frame, and a plurality of bottom doors hingedly supported at their forward edges for movement about transversely extending horizontal axes,

transversely extending brace members carried by said frame in registration with the free edges of said doors when in closed positions, bracket means carried by said brace members, a latch member pivotally mounted on each bracket means, the front surfaces of the latch members being provided with hook means to engage and hold the free edges of said doors in raised positions, spring means engaging said latchmembers and yieldably holding the same in engagement with said doors,

the rear faces of said latch members being formed with notches, 

